Bale conveyer for rotary baler



March 18, 1952 F. 1 MGALPINE ET AL 2,589,837

BALE CONVEYER FOR ROTARY BALER Filed May '11, 1949 3' Sheets-Sheetl March 18, 1952 F. J. MCALPINE ET AL BALE coNvEYER FOR ROTARY BALER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 11, 1949 dil/2392277@ z'cZz Jn fr ee M March 18, 1952 J, MoALPlNE ET AL y2,589,837

BALE CONVEYER FOR ROTARY BALER Filed May 11, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 @charged-'from thehaybalerfand .deliver the hay conveyor Patented Mar. 18, 1952 reo s TAT Es PATENT OFFICE v 2,589,831 BALE coNvEYER Foa ROTARY BALER* :Francis J. McAlpine and Melvin L. McAlpine, Rowan, and R. Lee Aldrich, Jr., Belmond, .Iowal Application' Ma-yjll, 194'9,SerialN'0. l92;-562

201mm. (mino- 16) This invention relates-to --an improvement in .a Figure '5 :is :'a :schematic 'view l showing" the pocrotaryihayzbaler `and more particularly tofa con- ;stion ofth'ebeltstof the hay baler after .the'bale 'fi/ eyo'r to'irerieive the rotary hay -bale when diS- .zhas :started :to ,form yand .the ;,p.osition l:of @the 1 Figure 16"is a schematic vfiew showing thegpo- A"bale toa :side -idelivery elevator to .be elevated to 5.5

.fa-.,we'gen.- sinon of the .belts after the baie is `eisrna'rgee lhezrotary'hayfbalergis already a-finished ar- .fand the lpfositionofthe conveyor :to receive athe fjzicleranddiseharges fafcylindricalbale di .hay di jgbale of hay.

rectly :fromthe frear 'of :the .-haybaler onto the Thenumera'l .I designatesarotary balen ground The operation of the baler is a one- :i0 The bale-isfformed between two '-series'oi belts V,marrjob except'for later 4picking up the .balesand carried yby the baler which .rotate in 1oppositediloading themone. wagon for-collecting them.4 It .'f-rections, thus forming va .round or cylindrical is ,highly desirable to Icollect the :bales at `the .-bale, -36inches in length and'from y1 4: 4tol22;in clz1es :same vtime ztheyare Vvdischarged .from the baler vin diameter. Thediameter and density :df the ;and'jit {s -with'this problem .that the presentfiri- :15 finished bale can be varied by adjustments fon -yention ris involved.` the baler.

.-Iti-is an object of the'inventionarnong others ,During operationof the 'lbalen `when tthe'hajle .to provide Aajcoriveyor .means vfor a .rotary hay rea-ches its proper size, a pick-up apron -so'f the 1-:b:rle rjto jceiveabale-off hay vdischarged from a baler `automatically stops, athen forwardrnotiofn Healer and 'guiderthe lha-le .of .hay ,to .an elevator .20 Ofv the vbaler stops, and v.the baler `eontinues :to

fior-collecting purposes. lrun'by means of Vthe power ltake-off. '"Thevha'le .Itisa'notherob'ject of the .inventionto provide is I then spirally wrapped with twine-,and .is A then .ra-fconveyor means v,for :a rotary hay baler Itol redischarged from lthe'baler The Vdischargeof.the ,ceive -a-bal of 'hay as -it discharges 'from a 'hay bale `causes the '-pick-upapron to :start again :and

baler, guide Ithe 4bale of hay '.to .an elevator and 25 `forward motion :of the -baleris vresumed @and .eln-

vzthe `ini'rention will :be more :fully described hereiraiseatwhebaleo ,hay vtoia wagon Yall -a's anne' `man :other 'bale formed.

@pel-tion j H Y The rolled bales iof` .hay are-,discharged directly It is';sti1 l ,.another object `o'f the ,invention to tothe surface ofxthefground when ,completedlan'd provide 1a .conveyormeans for a rotaryhaybaler :a separate loading z'apparatus `is-,towed along .the

Sto guide .a `balle o'f .hay .to .a collecting means gozfg'round to pick-up and load the 'bale's. The where the.balingandeoileeting can be done with Y Vpresent idea rconterlplatesloading thel hay bales .aiminimuin number of men. @from vthe baler into la rsideA vdelivery .elevator Von ,It is a ."further `object .off v.the invention to prothe baler to a wagon. vide a=conveyorlmeans for arotary haybaler'that The only change made in the baler .l .is to .add

'is simple in construction and operation, easy to 35 aplatform 2 to therear'.ofthelbaler fi. .Aneleoperateland economicalboth'in construction and wvator 3 is mounted 'on the yplatform 2 and .exoperatiom a conveyor meansjthat's'longlasting 'tends to one-side ofjthea'gloaler.v The elevator f3 and durable in pperation, requiring,fewjrepairs f-ispowered from `the beller .I yand comprises .Ia

andlittl'eloss in time lin .operationj a vconveyor fpulley 4 connected V.to the baker-mechanism .for means 'easy to operate, `simple in design and easy 40 `.c perating bale forming belts, apulley mounted to'repair'infca'se ofbrea'kdown; a conveyor means Aonbaler l to serve as belt -tightener'and :a pulley requirin'gnospecial skill on the part of an operf5 :connecting -to shafts to operate .the elevator .3. .alter .td-mount tit :on a Ybaler; and a conveyor The elevator 3 is regular Standard model purmeans v.that can be supplied at a very low cost. chased on .the ,openmarket .and .no elaine" of Anovelty are Triade .of it.

Figures 4, 5 and Q6 :show ysclleinaticeilly .the with and will be particularly pointed out in the forming of .the .bale fin the .baler .1.. 'The hay claims appended hereto. from the windrow entered .into the .baler .l`

With the v'fforeg`ci1ig :and 'other :objects in View. .1.

In the drawings; 'wherein llike :symbols refer passes 'under lroller v'l to vbe formed .into ,za layer.,

to like' or corresponding Yparts throughout the AThe layer of .-hay thenpasses .twoseriesof..rollers fseverailyiews: ffifa, Le, and mand u, aand 1.3. frheroners s.. Figure '1 Lisa rear View .of 'a'zrotary 'iliay Lbaler .9 vand Ill are covered `by .endlessfbelts 14 vwhile with aside @de1ive1'y elevator ishowing. the `rollers ;I.,I, I-2 and 1.3 `are .covered .b'y. endless Figure .I2 is ;a side view of the rear end of a Vr"-beltsl. .As clearlyshown `in Figure "5j,"t helb'elt rotav ay fhaler V.and*showing 4kas frontView I,of an M" yrotates ,in-:one `direction vawhile the belt .l5 rotates inthe :opposite direction. ".The '.layerfof Figure-315ejsetionalviewonthe line .3-3' o. ".-hay I6 lis.,circularly"wound.as is'hown ,in Figurel', Figure 1. and when the proper-size Aforalloa'le',fthe'balle I "l, Figure 4 is a schematic view showing the po- Figure 6, is discharged "from 'the 'baler I. vThe sitioriof the belts of the hay baler before the bale "l operation up to now is the standard operation for is started'` and the position of the conveyor. pfforming a rotary hay bale.

` be free to rotate.

As the hay bale II is discharged from the baler I, the belts I4 and I5 are imparting rotary motion to the bale I1. This rotary motion of the bale I'I makes it hard to control and unpredictable as to where the bale will land. A guide means has been found necessary to direct the hay bale to the elevator 3. Y

The guide means is a hinged conveyor I8 and forms a link between the baler I andthe elevator 3. It is very simply constructed being a square frame, slightly wider than the lower belt series I5 of the baler I. The lower end of the conveyor I8 is hinged at I9 to baler I, and

, the upper end of the conveyor I8 has a steel roller 20, about 11/2 inches in diameter which is supported on each end by a. bearing 2I so as to An inclined platform 22 extends from the'to'p of the conveyor I8 upon which the bale of hay I'I issuing from the baler I falls and 'is guided into the elevator 3. The platform 22-"is hinged at 23 so it can adjust itself to dierent'positions on the hinged conveyor I8. This self-adjustment of the platform 22 results from the fact that it is held in `a position other than one vertically depending from the hinge point 23 solely by itsfengagement with the elevator 3. This is shown clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Thus the platform 22 moves up or down according to the relative positions of the elevator and the baler.

In operation, as the bales are formed, the belts I4 and I5 of the baler I, move to the rear several inches. About midway of their. movement, the belts I4 contact the roller 20 and move the hinged conveyor I8 to the rear slightly. As son as bale II is discharged, the belts I4 and I5 immediately return to their starting positions and at the same time the hinged conveyor I8 is forced forward toits original position by means of a compressionspring 24. The spring 24 is held in position by means of a rod 25; the rod is -attacljxedto the elevator 3 Aand is attached to v-the hingedconveyor I8 at 26 so aslto pivot. The 'rod' 25 passes through a hole 271 in the elevator 3 at .the rear. Y

The hay inthe field is raked into windrows and fed into the rotary hay baler by moving the baler forwardly along the row. The hay baler operation for purposes of this invention are thought to be clear from the schematic diagrams and 28 represents a wagon that receives the bales as they are delivered. The rotary motion im-` parted tothe bale of hay II when discharged,

makes the bale hard to handle, in that the bale fis hard to guide. The bale can get between the belts I4 and I5 and the elevator 3. A stationary platform or guide has been tried but proved unsuccessful.

' The'hinged conveyor I8, where the conveyor I8 follows thebelts I4 and I5, always has'the roller 20 close to the bale I1 so that the bale I1 'contacts the roller 20 and the balance is such that the bale II` will roll down the platform 22 into the conveyor 43. The conveyor I8 is always in position to receive the bale of hay I1 issuing from the baler I and guide it to the elevator.

vIt is'to be understood that the form of my in- '-yention, herewith shown and described, is to be ',taken'asa preferred examplefof the same, andv that various changes in shape, Vsize and arrange- 1ment ofy parts may be resorted to without departing from the *spirit* of my'invention, orthe I scope. ofthe sub'joinedV claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A bale conveyor for use with an elevator mechanism in conjunction with a rotary baler of the type wherein the material tov be baled is rolled between two sets of vertically spaced belts that are moving in opposite directions over rollers; and which rollers are moveable to permit the bale to grow in size as the machine operates; and the rearward portion of the path taken by the lower set of belts moves forwardly and downwardly to permit normal formation of the bale until the completed bale is finally ejected` toward the rear of the baler; said bale conveyor comprising; a frame hingedly secured at its lower end to the rear end of said baler, a friction reducing means secured near the upper end of said frame, a bale guide platform member hingedly secured near the top of said frame and capable of overlapping a portion of an elevator mechanism used in conjunction with said baler; said bale guide platform member tending'to dependfrom its point of hinged attachment under the force of gravity; and said bale guide platform member being prevented from dependingsub# stantially straight downwardly solely" by'it's'efgagement with a portion'of an elevator, and'fa means secured to said frame for yieldingly urging said friction reducing means into contact with the lower set of belts of said baler.

2. A bale conveyor to guide balesformed ina rotary baler onto a rearwardly positioned associated elevator; said baler being of the type wherein at least one'endlessb'elt in contact with the material to be baled moves over rollers and causes the material to be baled to roll'in'to a, cylindrical Abundle of ,gradually increasing diameter whichv increase in diameter'is compensated for by a downward'an'd forward movement of at least one of the rollers over which said belt movesuntil the roller is below l and forward of thev center of a completed bale causing the bale to, be ejected rearwardly from said baler; said conveyor comprising, al frame hingedly -secured to said baler rearwardly vof said belt, 'a means for yieldingly urging one end of said frame'forwardly to be positioned near said belt as it passes over 'said roller that moves below a completed bale at the moment when a completed bale is ejected, and an inclined platform secured near said one end ofjsaid frame ,and eX tending rearwardly therefrom, said platform constructed and arranged to support a bale, ejected from said baler tol guide .and conveysaidbale 'to said rearwardly positioned associatedlelevator. j.; f FRANCIS J: MCALPINE.

MELVIN L. MCALPINE R. E. LEE ALDRICH, JR.

. 'REFERENCES CITED v The ,following references are of' record inthe file of this patenti` UNITED STATES vlnrrnivrs'v Name Date 799,175 Luebben Sept. 12, 1905 862,105 Reagan July 30, 1907 866,702 Weeks Sept. 24,- 1907 1,627,904 Hurff May 10, 1927 11,857,373 Goggins May 10,-1932 2,315,435 Apr. 13,1943 Fourness ;f';- :Oct: V16.A 1945 

